Smallpeice was initially employed by
The Hoover Company from 1931 to 1937 as an accountant and assistant secretary, before moving to
Royal Doulton as their chief accountant and secretary, where he stayed until 1948. He introduced this idea to
Paul Chambers, then on the board of the
Inland Revenue. The idea, which became the
PAYE system, would be tested in 1940–1941 and introduced permanently in 1944. The system vastly simplified and increased tax collection during the latter stages of World War II, when Britain was in desperate need of funds. Smallpeice would, whilst working at Doulton's, involve himself further in the ICAEW, promoting rule changes which would allow chartered accountants working in industry to sit on the ICAEW council, and being eligible to be Fellows of the institute. This would lead to him serving on the ICAEW council from 1948 to 1957.
BOAC Smallpeice formally joined BOAC on 1 January 1950, taking the title and role of financial comptroller. He would then be promoted to the additional position of deputy chief executive in June 1954. He was instrumental in the decision to purchase the
de Havilland Comet, believing the efficiencies and benefits of jet powered military aircraft would be useful if replicated in a civilian environment, and recognising the outdated aircraft the airline would otherwise be left with. The early operation of the de Havilland Comet was characterised by the series of fatal crashes which would result in the resignation of Miles Thomas as chairman in 1955. The root cause was eventually attributed to
metal fatigue and no blame was attached to either Smallpeice or indeed to Thomas. Smallpeice would initially retain his position as financial comptroller under the incoming chairman,
Gerard d'Erlanger, this would be a temporary arrangement and in 1956 Smallpeice was promoted to the role of chief executive, albeit with the title managing director. d'Erlanger and Smallpeice, who developed a particularly strong working relationship, were supporters of the British aviation industry, pursuing British built aircraft for BOAC. Smallpeice in particular had been a strong supporter of
de Havilland throughout the period of the Comet crashes and re-introduction to service, but concerns about the reintroduction of the Comet, delays with the Bristol Britannia and a lack of any other suitable British aircraft nearing production would force BOAC into purchasing the
Boeing 707 aircraft. Smallpeice was instrumental in their purchase, discreetly arranging for BOAC staff to visit America and examine the
Boeing 367-80 prototype before persuading the government to authorise the purchase, as was necessary at the time. The purchase of the Boeing 707 aircraft would be followed by several orders for
Vickers competing design, the
VC10, with BOAC having ordered 35 VC10 aircraft by 1959 and an additional ten (bringing the total on order to 45) by 1961. Payments for these aircraft together with a downturn in transatlantic traffic, increased competition on the transatlantic route by additional carriers equipped with jet aircraft, and a whole host of additional costs associated with the Vickers VC10 and Bristol Britannia purchase would result in BOAC becoming extremely unprofitable from late 1961 onwards. It was during this period that Smallpeice began to work with Sir
Edward Fielden, Captain of the Queen's Flight on arrangements to fly
Queen Elizabeth II,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the royal family overseas on BOAC aircraft. Smallpeice, who generally took personal responsibility for the organisation of these flights, was recognised for this work in 1961 when he was appointed a
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. d'Erlanger retired as chairman in 1960, and was succeeded by
Matthew Slattery. Smallpeice remained as managing director, and together Slattery and Smallpeice set about cutting costs at the airline as the financial performance continued to deteriorate. BOAC would incur significant losses in 1961 and 1962 amidst decreasing passenger loadings, comparatively high maintenance costs and ongoing payments to Vickers for the VC10 orders. The financial situation was further endangered by competition from independent British operation
Cunard Eagle Airways, a joint venture between British Eagle and
Cunard. The venture had ordered two Boeing 707 aircraft in March 1961, intending to recapture Cunard's transatlantic market which was traditionally the preserve of their ocean liners, the and . They received permission to operate services between London and New York in June 1961, though this was swiftly withdrawn by the
Minister of Aviation when BOAC appealed the decision. Smallpeice, concerned about the additional competition and unable to obtain additional Boeing 707 aircraft any other way, began talks in April 1962 to merge BOAC's North Atlantic operations with those of Cunard Eagle. Agreement was reached in early June 1962 on ownership percentages, and the newly formed company, BOAC-Cunard, began operations later that month. The new airline would operate all the transatlantic services of BOAC and Cunard Eagle from 1962 to 1966. Smallpeice served as managing director of the joint venture, in addition to his role as managing director of BOAC itself.
Giles Guthrie, a respected aviator, merchant banker and director of
British European Airways who would take over from Slattery as chairman and chief executive, also intended to perform some of the managing director's roles, making Smallpeice's position essentially redundant; Smallpeice was asked to resign by Amery, leaving the company late in 1963 to facilitate Guthrie's new management structure. The agreements to containerise Cunard's freight operations had returned the overall Cunard group to profitability, with the shipping line now profitable and the passenger ships losing money, a reversal of the situation Smallpeice had inherited in 1965. The company returned profits of £2 million in 1968 and £3 million in 1969 and the share price rose accordingly. The downturn in the economy and shipping industry in 1970 resulted in Cunard once again incurring a loss and a drop in the share price, resulting in the company becoming a takeover target. Smallpeice attempted to defend the company against a takeover, commissioning a report from
McKinsey & Company on the future outlook of the company. This course of action would ultimately prove futile and
Trafalgar House would launch a successful bid for the company, beginning on 30 June 1971. Smallpeice and the seven other directors were dubbed
"the straight eight" as a result of their honest and principled stance in contemporary newspaper coverage, but Smallpeice would find further employment impossible whilst the Lonrho investigation was carried out.
Other interests Smallpeice served as a director of
Martins Bank from 1965 to 1969 alongside Sir John Brocklebank, his predecessor as Cunard chairman, remaining with Martins until 1969 when the bank was incorporated into
Barclays Bank. He served on the London local board of Martins Bank prior to his appointment on the main board, serving from to 1964 to 1965. Smallpeice would join the London local board of Barclays Bank after their takeover of Martins Bank, a position he held until 1973. He was involved throughout his career in professional bodies, in addition to his time on the council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales earlier in his career, from 1958 to 1961, he served on the council of the
Institute of Transport. He succeeded Clive Hunting as chairman of the Air League in 1971 for a three-year term. He was a companion of the
Royal Aeronautical Society from 1960 to 1975, and became a liveryman of The
Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers in 1961, as a livery company, they represent aircraft builders. Smallpeice remained on the boards of Associated Container Transportation (Australia) and the Associated Container Transportation (Australia)/Australian Line partnership until retiring in 1979. His final professional position would be his role as Administrative Adviser to the Queen's Household, from which he retired in 1980. ==Personal life==